43 U.S.C. § 1348 — Enforcement of safety and environmental

Page 353 TITLE 43—PUBLIC LANDS § 1348 § 1348. Enforcement of safety and environmental regulations (a) Utilization of Federal departments and agen- cies The Secretary, the Secretary of the Depart- ment in which the Coast Guard is operating, and the Secretary of the Army shall enforce safety and environmental regulations promulgated pursuant to this subchapter. Each such Federal department may by agreement utilize, with or without reimbursement, the services, personnel, or facilities of other Federal departments and agencies for the enforcement of their respective regulations. (b) Duties of holders of lease or permit It shall be the duty of any holder of a lease or permit under this subchapter to— (1) maintain all places of employment within the lease area or within the area covered by such permit in compliance with occupational safety and health standards and, in addition, free from recognized hazards to employees of the lease holder or permit holder or of any contractor or subcontractor operating within such lease area or within the area covered by such permit on the outer Continental Shelf; (2) maintain all operations within such lease area or within the area covered by such permit in compliance with regulations intended to protect persons, property, and the environ- ment on the outer Continental Shelf; and (3) allow prompt access, at the site of any operation subject to safety regulations, to any inspector, and to provide such documents and records which are pertinent to occupational or public health, safety, or environmental protec- tion, as may be requested. (c) Onsite inspection of facilities The Secretary and the Secretary of the De- partment in which the Coast Guard is operating shall individually, or jointly if they so agree, promulgate regulations to provide for— (1) scheduled onsite inspection, at least once a year, of each facility on the outer Conti- nental Shelf which is subject to any environ- mental or safety regulation promulgated pur- suant to this subchapter, which inspection shall include all safety equipment designed to prevent or ameliorate blowouts, fires, spill- ages, or other major accidents; and (2) periodic onsite inspection without ad- vance notice to the operator of such facility to assure compliance with such environmental or safety regulations. (d) Investigation and report on major fires, oil spills, death, or serious injury (1) The Secretary or the Secretary of the De- partment in which the Coast Guard is operating shall make an investigation and public report on each major fire and each major oil spillage oc- curring as a result of operations conducted pur- suant to this subchapter, and may, in his discre- tion, make an investigation and report of lesser oil spillages. For purposes of this subsection, a major oil spillage is any spillage in one instance of more than two hundred barrels of oil during a period of thirty days. All holders of leases or permits issued or maintained under this sub- chapter shall cooperate with the appropriate Secretary in the course of any such investiga- tion. (2) The Secretary or the Secretary of the De- partment in which the Coast Guard is operating shall make an investigation and public report on any death or serious injury occurring as a result of operations conducted pursuant to this sub- chapter, and may, in his discretion, make an in- vestigation and report of any injury. For pur- poses of this subsection, a serious injury is one resulting in substantial impairment of any bod- ily unit or function. All holders of leases or per- mits issued or maintained under this subchapter shall cooperate with the appropriate Secretary in the course of any such investigation. (e) Review of allegations of violations The Secretary, or, in the case of occupational safety and health, the Secretary of the Depart- ment in which the Coast Guard is operating, may review any allegation from any person of the existence of a violation of a safety regula- tion issued under this subchapter. (f) Summoning of witnesses and production of evidence In any investigation conducted pursuant to this section, the Secretary or the Secretary of the Department in which the Coast Guard is op- erating shall have power to summon witnesses and to require the production of books, papers, documents, and any other evidence. Attendance of witnesses or the production of books, papers, documents, or any other evidence shall be com- pelled by a similar process, as in the district courts of the United States. Such Secretary, or his designee, shall administer all necessary oaths to any witnesses summoned before such investigation. (Aug. 7, 1953, ch. 345, § 22, as added Pub. L. 95–372, title II, § 208, Sept. 18, 1978, 92 Stat. 655; amended Pub. L. 105–362, title IX, § 901(l)(2), Nov. 10, 1998, 112 Stat. 3290.) Editorial Notes AMENDMENTS 1998—Subsec. (g). Pub. L. 105–362 struck out subsec. (g) which read as follows: ‘‘The Secretary shall, after consultation with the Secretary of the Department in which the Coast Guard is operating, include in his an- nual report to the Congress required by section 1343 of this title the number of violations of safety regulations reported or alleged, any investigations undertaken, the results of such investigations, and any administrative or judicial action taken as a result of such investiga- tions, and the results of the diving studies conducted under section 1347(e) of this title.’’ Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries TRANSFER OF FUNCTIONS For transfer of authorities, functions, personnel, and assets of the Coast Guard, including the authorities and functions of the Secretary of Transportation relat- ing thereto, to the Department of Homeland Security, and for treatment of related references, see sections 468(b), 551(d), 552(d), and 557 of Title 6, Domestic Secu- rity, and the Department of Homeland Security Reor- ganization Plan of November 25, 2002, as modified, set out as a note under section 542 of Title 6. Page 354 TITLE 43—PUBLIC LANDS § 1349 1 So in original. Probably should be ‘‘Appeals’’. REPORT AND RECOMMENDATIONS BY SECRETARY TO CONGRESS FOR TRAINING PROGRAM Pub. L. 95–372, title VI, § 607, Sept. 18, 1978, 92 Stat. 697, required the Secretary of the Interior, in consulta- tion with the Secretary of the Department in which the Coast Guard is operating, not later than ninety days after Sept. 18, 1978, to prepare and submit to the Con- gress a training program report concerning individuals employed on any artificial island, installation, or other device located on the Outer Continental Shelf and who, as part of their employment, operate or supervise the operation of pollution-prevention equipment. § 1349. Citizens suits, jurisdiction and judicial re- view (a) Persons who may bring actions; persons against whom action may be brought; time of action; intervention by Attorney General; costs and fees; security (1) Except as provided in this section, any per- son having a valid legal interest which is or may be adversely affected may commence a civil ac- tion on his own behalf to compel compliance with this subchapter against any person, includ- ing the United States, and any other govern- ment instrumentality or agency (to the extent permitted by the eleventh amendment to the Constitution) for any alleged violation of any provision of this subchapter or any regulation promulgated under this subchapter, or of the terms of any permit or lease issued by the Sec- retary under this subchapter. (2) Except as provided in paragraph (3) of this subsection, no action may be commenced under subsection (a)(1) of this section— (A) prior to sixty days after the plaintiff has given notice of the alleged violation, in writ- ing under oath, to the Secretary and any other appropriate Federal official, to the State in which the violation allegedly occurred or is occurring, and to any alleged violator; or (B) if the Attorney General has commenced and is diligently prosecuting a civil action in a court of the United States or a State with respect to such matter, but in any such action in a court of the United States any person having a legal interest which is or may be ad- versely affected may intervene as a matter of right. (3) An action may be brought under this sub- section immediately after notification of the al- leged violation in any case in which the alleged violation constitutes an imminent threat to the public health or safety or would immediately af- fect a legal interest of the plaintiff. (4) In any action commenced pursuant to this section, the Attorney General, upon the request of the Secretary or any other appropriate Fed- eral official, may intervene as a matter of right. (5) A court, in issuing any final order in any action brought pursuant to subsection (a)(1) or subsection (c) of this section, may award costs of litigation, including reasonable attorney and expert witness fees, to any party, whenever such court determines such award is appropriate. The court may, if a temporary restraining order or preliminary injunction is sought, require the fil- ing of a bond or equivalent security in a suffi- cient amount to compensate for any loss or damage suffered, in accordance with the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. (6) Except as provided in subsection (c) of this section, all suits challenging actions or deci- sions allegedly in violation of, or seeking en- forcement of, the provisions of this subchapter, or any regulation promulgated under this sub- chapter, or the terms of any permit or lease issued by the Secretary under this subchapter, shall be undertaken in accordance with the pro- cedures described in this subsection. Nothing in this section shall restrict any right which any person or class of persons may have under any other Act or common law to seek appropriate relief. (b) Jurisdiction and venue of actions (1) Except as provided in subsection (c) of this section, the district courts of the United States shall have jurisdiction of cases and controver- sies arising out of, or in connection with (A) any operation conducted on the outer Continental Shelf which involves exploration, development, or production of the minerals, of the subsoil and seabed of the outer Continental Shelf, or which involves rights to such minerals, or (B) the can- cellation, suspension, or termination of a lease or permit under this subchapter. Proceedings with respect to any such case or controversy may be instituted in the judicial district in which any defendant resides or may be found, or in the judicial district of the State nearest the place the cause of action arose. (2) Any resident of the United States who is injured in any manner through the failure of any operator to comply with any rule, regula- tion, order, or permit issued pursuant to this subchapter may bring an action for damages (in- cluding reasonable attorney and expert witness fees) only in the judicial district having juris- diction under paragraph (1) of this subsection. (c) Review of Secretary’s approval of leasing pro- gram; review of approval, modification or disapproval of exploration or production plan; persons who may seek review; scope of review; certiorari to Supreme Court (1) Any action of the Secretary to approve a leasing program pursuant to section 1344 of this title shall be subject to judicial review only in the United States Court of Appeal 1 for the Dis- trict of Columbia. (2) Any action of the Secretary to approve, re- quire modification of, or disapprove any explo- ration plan or any development and production plan under this subchapter shall be subject to judicial review only in a United States court of appeals for a circuit in which an affected State is located. (3) The judicial review specified in paragraphs (1) and (2) of this subsection shall be available only to a person who (A) participated in the ad- ministrative proceedings related to the actions specified in such paragraphs, (B) is adversely af- fected or aggrieved by such action, (C) files a pe- tition for review of the Secretary’s action with- in sixty days after the date of such action, and (D) promptly transmits copies of the petition to the Secretary and to the Attorney General. (4) Any action of the Secretary specified in paragraph (1) or (2) shall only be subject to re- view pursuant to the provisions of this sub-